“Samuel, finally.” She was already talking, already in motion, a whirlwind of designer clothes and manic energy. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve called and texted? Do you have any idea what’s happening right now?”
I stared at her. My soon-to-be-former agent. Standing in Farley’s cabin in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains, looking like she’d just stepped off a red carpet and into a war zone.
“Sabrina. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Saving your career. You’re welcome.” She finally stopped moving long enough to look at me—really look—and her eyes narrowed. “You look... rumpled. Why do you look rumpled? And why is he “—she jerked her head toward Farley—”also rumpled? Why does this cabin smell like—" She stopped. Sniffed. Her expression shifted into something calculating. “Oh. Oh, this is perfect.”
“What’s perfect?” Farley asked, his voice cold. “And who are you?”
“Sabrina Vance. Samuel’s agent.” She extended a hand without looking at him, already pulling out her phone with the other. “And you must be the mystery man. You’re cuter in person than in the video. That’ll play well.”
Ice flooded my veins. “What video?”
Sabrina looked up from her phone, eyebrows raised. “You don’t know? God, you really have been hiding up here, haven’t you?” She thrust her phone toward me. “This video has been trending for the past twelve hours. The one that has your name at number three on X. The one that’s about to make you the most talked-about actor in daytime television.”
I took the phone. Farley moved to stand beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched.
The video was grainy, clearly shot on a phone. I recognized the fluorescent lights of Shifflett’s General Store. Recognized the toiletries aisle. Recognized myself, leaning close to Farley, saying something that made him blush.
And then I watched Farley close the distance between us and kiss me.
The caption read: OMG DR BROCK BLAZE KISSING SOME GUY AT A STORE IN VIRGINIA??? #midnightatmagnoliageneral #brockblaze #gay #shiffletsgeneralstore
Two point three million views.
The phone nearly slipped from my fingers.
“Oh my God. The clerk,” Farley said, his voice hollow. “At the counter. They weren’t texting.”
“No.” I felt sick. “They were filming.”
“This is incredible,” Sabrina said, apparently oblivious to the fact that we were both spiraling. “The engagement is through the roof. The network’s been calling all morning—they want to discuss your contract. Your leverage just went through the roof, Samuel. We can get you another million, easy. Maybe more if we play this right.”
“Play this right?” I stared at her. “Sabrina, this is my life. It isn’t a publicity stunt.”
“Everything’s a publicity stunt if you spin it correctly.” She waved a dismissive hand. “The question is, do we confirm the relationship or keep people guessing? Keeping them guessing might generate more buzz, but confirming has the benefit of—”
“Stop.” Farley’s voice was quiet, but it cut through Sabrina’s chatter like a knife. “Just... stop talking.”
Sabrina blinked at him, clearly unused to being interrupted. “Excuse me?”
“You’re talking about us as if we’re products. Like this,”—he gestured between himself and me—"is something you can package and sell. It’s not. It’s private."
“Sweetie.” Sabrina’s smile was patronizing. “Nothing is private when you’re dating a celebrity. You should have thought about that before you kissed him in public.”
Farley flinched like he’d been slapped.
“Sabrina,” I said, and my voice came out harder than I’d ever heard it. “Shut up.”
She actually looked surprised. “Samuel—”
“No. I mean it. Shut up.” I stepped between her and Farley, some protective instinct I didn’t know I had kicking into gear. “You don’t get to come in here and talk to him like that. You don’t get to treat what’s happening between us like it’s a brand strategy. And you definitely don’t get to make him feel like this is his fault.”
“I’m trying to help you—”
“You’re trying to help yourself. You’ve always been trying to help yourself. Every leaked story, every manufactured rumor, every time you sold pieces of my life for clicks and engagement—that was never about me. That was about your commission.”
Sabrina’s face hardened. “Without me, you’d still be doing regional theater in San Diego.”
